What a dream project for me to work on Breath of the Dragon with Shannon. Bruce Lee had an enormous influence on me as a martial artist, a storytellerWhat a dream project for me to work on Breath of the Dragon with Shannon. Bruce Lee had an enormous influence on me as a martial artist, a storyteller and an Asian American, so I’m excited to bring his ethos to an audience of teen readers through Jun’s action-packed journey. ...more
Jade City is my adult debut and it also marks my foray into epic fantasy. It came about from watching kung fu movies and thinking, "You know, I'm a loJade City is my adult debut and it also marks my foray into epic fantasy. It came about from watching kung fu movies and thinking, "You know, I'm a long-time student of martial arts, so why can't I punch through concrete or fly thirty feet into the air yet?" I started envisioning a society where magical jade granted special abilities to warriors with the proper training and bloodline, and the idea merged with my longstanding enthusiasm for mafia stories to become this modern gangster family saga. It's the most intense, ambitious thing I've ever written, and there's more to come....more
The second book in an author's career is often harder to write than the first, so as much as I love ZEROBOXER, I am especially proud of EXO. I set outThe second book in an author's career is often harder to write than the first, so as much as I love ZEROBOXER, I am especially proud of EXO. I set out to break a lot of tropes in this book, to completely twist the old "aliens conquer Earth" narrative, and to write an action-packed science fiction novel about soldiers and aliens and terrorists in a story that's ultimately about reconciling yourself with the choices made by your parents. Also, I would really like to have an exocel, wouldn't you? ...more
I've always had a soft spot for portal fantasy stories (Narnia! Oz! Wonderland! Stargate!). Three Great Lies delivers that same sense of "stranger in I've always had a soft spot for portal fantasy stories (Narnia! Oz! Wonderland! Stargate!). Three Great Lies delivers that same sense of "stranger in a magical land" adventure, but in ANCIENT EGYPT. With animated mummies and cat-headed girls. If you like historical fantasy, and if ancient Egypt in particular interests you at all, then you'll want to check out Vanessa MacLellan's strong debut novel.
The story centers on Jeannette Walker, a jaded young woman touring Egypt who falls for a tour guide's ruse and ends up tumbling down a tomb shaft and into a magical ancient land. There, she ends up with two unusual traveling companions: Abayomi, a reanimated mummy in search of his ba, and Sanura, a cat-headed girl freed from slavery. MacLellan has obviously done her research and makes the details of ancient Egypt come alive, but infuses them with magical elements as well as the often wry and witty observations of our modern heroine. Jeannette is a cynical but fundamentally good person with endearing character quirks (she's a neat freak with a diminishing supply of sanitary towelettes on hand in a pre-modern medicine environment) and both Abayomi and Sanura are fully developed and complex characters in their own right. Their entwined journeys lead the book to a satisfyingly exciting and romantic ending.
Note: I read an advance copy of the book provided by the author (so the final copy is probably even better!) I'll be eagerly looking forward to what MacLellan comes up with next!...more
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